Pending closure of credit union leaves North Okanagan village with one bank

Due to the shift to online banking, which has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Lumby's Valley First Credit Union will be closing its doors this fall.

First West Credit Union announced the closure Sept. 15, stating the Lumby subsidiary branch will close its doors on Nov. 10. The bank's closure will leave its customers with a 50 kilometres round trip to their nearest branch in Vernon.

"Our members are increasingly handling their banking online or through our Member Advice Centre, which means their branch visits are more for advice-driven conversations," Valley First president Paulo Araujo said in a media release. "This behavioural shift has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and, as a result, we are consolidating our branch network, investing in technology and creating new front-line roles to meet the evolving needs of our members and remain a financially strong member-owned co-operative during a time of considerable economic uncertainty."

On the same day, Valley First announced its departure from Lumby, the credit union donated $25,000 to Lumby Public Library. The credit union has donated close to $190,000 to the library since 2012.

"Valley First also made future commitments to several other local organizations including Whitevalley Community Resource Centre, Lumby and District Health Services Society and the Lumby Food Bank," the media release says.

A Valley First spokesperson said in an email that all the employees have been provided with "other opportunities within the organization."

Valley First also said the credit union had no plans to consolidate any other branches at this time.

Currently, First West Credit Union has 46 branches throughout B.C. making it the third-largest in the province employing more than 300 people.

It's not just small towns that are seeing bank branches closing, the Royal Bank of Canada closed its downtown Vernon branch in 2019, after 114 years of service.

Valley First's closure will leave the North Okanagan town with only one bank, a Scotiabank branch.


To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community? Create a free account to comment on stories, ask questions, and join meaningful discussions on our new site.

Leave a Reply

Ben Bulmer

After a decade of globetrotting, U.K. native Ben Bulmer ended up settling in Canada in 2009. Calling Vancouver home he headed back to school and studied journalism at Langara College. From there he headed to Ottawa before winding up in a small anglophone village in Quebec, where he worked for three years at a feisty English language newspaper. Ben is always on the hunt for a good story, an interesting tale and to dig up what really matters to the community.